St. Joachim
Feast 07-26 · Canonized Pre-Congregation
Patron of
About
Joachim is honored as the father of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandfather of Jesus. He is not mentioned in the Bible, but the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James tells of a wealthy and devout man who, with his wife Anne, suffered many years of childlessness. When his offering at the Temple was rejected because he had no children, Joachim withdrew to the wilderness to fast and pray, and an angel announced that Anne would bear a daughter.
Devotion to Joachim developed early in the Eastern Church and spread through the West in the Middle Ages. He is often depicted with Anne and the child Mary, and his feast was long celebrated on August 16 before being joined with Anne's on July 26 in the modern calendar.
As the father of Mary, Joachim is a natural patron of fathers, grandfathers, and couples hoping to conceive.
Suggested prayer
O God, who heard the fasting and prayer of St. Joachim in the wilderness and promised him a daughter, grant through his intercession that fathers and grandparents may lead their families in faith and love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
